MARIETTA — Police are investigating two separate homicide cases that happened within an hour of each other and only seven miles apart in Cobb County.

Authorities say the first took place just after 11 p.m. Tuesday night at a house on Dorsey Road, near the intersection of Canton and Sandy Plains roads, just outside of Marietta’s city limits, and had started as a home invasion.

When Cobb police officers arrived at the home, the owner told them he had shot an intruder in his house, and that another suspect drove away, according to Officer Mike Bowman.

Authorities recovered the body of a man at the house, who was later identified as 30-year-old Michael Verucci of Marietta.

Bowman said investigators do not expect to file any charges in the case.

Later that night, a Franklin Road apartment shooting left one man dead and two others injured just after midnight Wednesday.

Investigators say the shooting took place at a large party in an apartment at The Dwells @ 750 complex off Franklin Road, about a mile away from Burruss Nature Park.

Witnesses say an altercation broke out when four to five uninvited guests turned up at the party and began arguing with party-goers, according to Officer David Baldwin, Marietta Police Department spokesman.

The conflict escalated when one of the unwanted guests pulled out a gun, investigators say, and began shooting into the crowd.

“I was sitting on my porch when I heard everything,” one tenant, who declined to be named, said of the incident. “I heard gunshots, and I went inside.”

Police say one victim was rushed to Kennestone Hospital via ambulance, while the other two were driven to the hospital by friends before officers arrived.

Christopher Wilson, 19, of Marietta, was pronounced dead from his injuries at the hospital, authorities said. The remaining two victims have been identified as 19-year-old Chauncey Martin and 18-year-old Malik Phillips, both of whom sustained non-life-threatening injuries.

Wilson attended Campbell High School.

“Everyone’s torn up about it, especially with all of the other recent deaths,” said Andy Mott, 19, who graduated from Campbell High last year. Mott said he met Wilson through mutual friends, and he knows some of Wilson’s family and friends. “No one’s given enough time to finish grieving before another one happens, so it’s just really been one bad situation that keeps getting worse.”

Baldwin would not release a description of the shooter.

Baldwin said detectives had been interviewing partygoers Wednesday.

Friends and acquaintances of partygoers took to social media in the hours after the shooting.

“Shooting at parties or in public can hurt anyone,” one Campbell High School student tweeted. “Not all people with a gun have a perfect shot, and a bullet has no name.”

As Cobb police spokesman, Bowman said he could not speculate on whether or not the two shootings are related because he is not part of the investigation in either case, but said detectives from both Cobb and Marietta have “an open line of communication.” He said if the investigation of either homicide reveals evidence that may help a different case, they would share the information with other jurisdictions.

Anyone with information about the apartment shooting is asked to contact Detective Christopher Lindsey at (770) 794-5369 or the Marietta Police Department’s anonymous tip line at (770) 794-6990.

Those who can help with the Dorsey Road case are asked to call Cobb Police Department’s Crimes Against Persons Unit at (770) 499-3945.

Is it just me or is Cobb County starting to feel like "SW Atlanta". For years, every night the local news channels outline more murder and mayhem in that part of town. Now, it seems, we have joined them.

So was that whole Franklin Rd project really just a jobs program for police and medics?

We should go after the landlords, except the landlord of Franklin Rd is City of Marietta, right? All those dilapidated apartment complexes sure were great buys. Did Kennesaw figure out how to steal them from us yet?

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